Infinity
by Last of the Loneliness
Summary: A Sailor Cosmos story. A nervous girl from a powerful galaxy is swept up in the legacy of Cosmos-a legacy that spans time and space.
1. They Wait For Nothing

"_Sailor Senshi draw their power from the attributes associated with the celestial body they represent. Their uniforms also reflect their association with their planet, star, comet, meteor, etc. This is why all sailors have different uniforms. However, uniforms in a given solar system will typically take on the same style, but different colors; this is because all bodies in a system were usually intended to be headed by one leader. This is not necessarily the case…"_

The girl reading the passage tossed the book down, watching it bounce once on the bed before sliding off into the floor. She sat up, swinging her legs around, her dirty-blonde hair messy. "So there really is no ruling for the uniforms. Any sailor can wear what they like." She snorted. "What a crock."

"Well, we have seen some strange ones," her sister said. She was standing by the window, braiding her much lighter hair. They were very similar in appearance, but completely different in demeanor. While the one on the bed was confident, her face with a slight smirk and hard eyes, her sister was scrawny, her arms crossed, her face always covered with an incessant worry. The second and younger sister, Salina, spoke again. "Remember the day when the sailors from the Efelyor system came? They had long skirts, not short ones, and their sleeves were all ruffly."

"Seems hot," the older sister, Phoebe, said. "I like ours. Speaking of which, look—there's a picture of you." She held out the book with one hand.

"What? Where? I thought this was old?" Salina demanded, abandoning her hair in favor of grabbing the book from the floor and rifling through it.

"Page seven twenty-five, I think," Phoebe said, watching her sister almost hungrily as she waited for Salina's reaction.

"What? No," Salina said. She turned the book around, pointing at the inked illustration of the sailor there. "This is some other Sailor Virginis. If what the book says is true, our uniform colors aren't even the same."

"She probably looked better," Phoebe said, only half-teasing. "Yellow and grey? Your colors are the most boring ones I've ever heard of."

"I'm sure there's some sailor whose only color is white or something," Salina said. She placed the book, closed, back onto the bed and returned to the window.

The room overlooked a wide courtyard, surrounded by the walls of a building that looked military. Beyond the other side were high walls, and then the splendor of the city-kingdom that was called Virginis, located on the sun that went by the same name. The city was tall, spires of buildings piercing the dark blue sky. The planets of the Virginian System were clearly visible in the sky, as well as more distant stars. The closest planet, Plervene, looked as large as a dinner plate.

Day and night were the same on Virginis. The sun's fiery center was covered by a powerful magical shield, and a second shield protected the city and its inhabitants from the vacuum of space. A favorite activity, especially of tourists, was to stand on the glassy streets and stare hundreds of feet down at the fire of the star, watching it twist and burn. Those people without homes did not have to fear the elements, as lying on the ground, heated from below, was quite warm.

Salina turned away from the window, closing a metal shutter over it with the touch of a button. Instantly the room was pitch black. She felt about in the darkness until she found the bed, before sliding the sheets back and climbing in. Phoebe shifted next to her.

"G'night, little sister," she whispered.

"Are you ready for training tomorrow?" Salina asked sleepily, more out of habit than real curiosity.

Phoebe laughed. "Always. We can only hope that our beloved ruler doesn't show up to supervise again…"

* * *

"Line up! Quickly! In place! No fidgeting! No holes!" The short-haired man paced back and forth, a vein constantly pulsing in his head, his eyes narrowed as he barked out orders. He would have been good looking, but few of the older girls could like a man who was overly fond of criticizing and emphasizing his points with his whip or his fists. Many of the younger girls were attracted to him, and rumor held that the prettier ones among them would often 'keep him company.'

Luckily his partner, a red-haired woman who loved the sound of her own voice and was overly fond of reliving her glory days, was not present, though doubtlessly she would turn up sooner or later.

Salina and Phoebe stood together in the center of the front line, barely moving, hardly daring to breathe for fear of being called out. The first line had only twelve people, while the second had nearly three times as much, and the back line numbered nearly a hundred.

The Sailor Academy, as it was called, was an establishment created at least five hundred years ago by the aristocracy of Virginis. Wishing to perfect the training—and brainwashing—of the sailors of the system, any possible future sailors were taken to the Academy from the planets orbiting Virginis. Many were taken as toddlers or infants. Few could remember their parents, or any life outside of the vicious daily training regiment of the Academy.

The very youngest among them were sent to the Junior Sailor Academy—Sailor Kindergarten, the older ones snidely called it—where they had little training beside learning reading, writing, and walking. They would then enter the Academy, and begin the fierce training necessary. They were the ones in the back line of each morning roll call. As they took their exams, both written and physical, many failed and were banished from the Academy. No one knew what became of them, whether they were shipped back to their planets, or just set free into the city. Those who had survived thus far stood in the second line. The front line was composed of the Academy's success stories. These were the girls who had survived rigorous competition to replace the next soldiers of the Virginis system. Some, such as Phoebe, Sailor Veltor, were replacements of the current Senshi, who would step down when the girls graduated the Academy. Others, such as Salina, were replacing spots that were currently vacant. Coralis, better known as Lady Cor, the red-haired terror who ruled over the students of the Academy, had been Sailor Virginis two generations before Salina. The Virginis who had come after her had been killed viciously in battle, and the title had passed to Salina.

The male leader of training, Lord Sukreph, paced back and forth along the lines, staring at each girl in turn, looking for any signs of weakness. Several girls in the back row were sent to run laps around the courtyard. In the front, Lady Cor had finally seen fit to arrive.

"What are you waiting for, girls?" she yelled. "Transform!"

Almost as one, the girls who were able in the front row raised their transformation devices and shouted.

"Virginis! Make up!"

"Plervene Power! Make up!"

"Nereven! Make up!"

"Discor! Make up!"

The four girls were swallowed by light for an instant before reappearing in their Senshi forms.

Sailors Virginis, Plervene, and Discor had all been killed in the same bloody battle with the neighboring system, while Nereven had grown too old for the job and simply passed her ring down to the Academy.

The other girls in the front row, those who could not yet transform, tried not to look too jealous, but many in the back two rows were looking on with envy. After Sukreph struck a girl in the face with the back of his hand, and shouted that jealousy was an emotion ill-befitting a sailor, the others hid their expressions.

Lady Cor strode in front of the front line, locking eyes with Salina before bellowing. "Stand straight, Virginis! You'll have to work harder than that to be my replacement!"

Salina managed not to wince at the sudden yell and bit back her retort, that she wasn't Cor's replacement, she was the replacement of Mirian, who by all accounts had been a sweet and dedicated warrior. Immediately after she had been killed, rumors circulated that she had died saving Sailor Atalin, who at that point had been fresh out of the Academy. Cor had, of course, quickly squashed those rumors. She had an obsession with deleting anything that contradicted her conviction that she was the best Sailor Virginis of all time.

Salina stood straight, though not without annoyance.

Her uniform was simple and clean. The outfit was a dress, flowing smoothly into the short skirt. The bow was held in place by a gleaming gem containing each sailor's planetary symbol. There were no gloves, and each sailor had a ring on her finger; rings were what sailors of the Virginian System used to transform.

Salina's sailor collar was grey, as was the center pleat of her skirt. Her bow and shoulder bands were bright yellow-gold, as was her choker and tiara. Her pale blonde hair was gathered into two buns low on either side of her head.

Sukreph strode to the front and stood beside Cor. "Front row! Today you're practicing magical attacks. One fires and the other tries to block. Transformed with transformed, non-transformed with non-transformed. Back two rows, you're sparring."

As sadistic as they might have been, at least Sukreph and Cor were fair when assigning partners. Since transformed sailors had much greater powers, pairing them with non-transformed girls would result in serious injuries. Salina was grateful, and secretly she hoped that Phoebe would not get her transformation any time soon. She could never seriously attempt an attack on her sister, even in training. For now, she almost always paired with Discor, who was one of the most powerful soldiers after Salina.

They traded blasts, Salina utilizing her fire-based powers and Discor countering them with shadows. As the morning went on and both became more tired, their blocks became sloppier and sloppier. Wincing from a series of cuts on her thigh, Salina discretely glanced around the courtyard. Watching the non-Sailors spar was always interesting, and as Sukreph and Cor usually watched them, it gave the Sailors a chance to see someone else being yelled at.

Around mid-morning the training session was disturbed by a sudden fanfare of trumpets from behind the gates into the courtyard. Sukreph and Cor, as one, yelled "Clear the way!"

Even as far apart as they were standing, Salina could hear Phoebe's tortured groan, and she had to fight the smile that threatened to appear on her face.

"Yes, Lady Cor, Yes, Lord Sukreph," the students chanted, pressing back against the walls. The gates opened inward, and through the entrance came a parade of people. First came the trumpeters, and then several male magician-soldiers, and finally slaves, carrying a litter. The man seated on the litter was gaudy in the jewels that twinkled from every corner of his fat body, but otherwise ugly.

The procession crossed the courtyard and came to the far side, where Salina stood. The party seated themselves on the shaded steps next to the wall, followed by Sukreph and Cor, who were both contorted into half-bows.

"Show your respect for His Majesty, Grand Emperor of Virginis and all the Virginian System!" one of the trumpeters yelled. The students dropped into bows, some of the younger ones actually dropping all the way to the ground. After around five seconds, Cor broke the silence.

"All right, back to your training!"

They got up and resumed, Salina facing off with Discor once more. She overheard pieces of the conversation between Cor, Sukreph, and the Emperor, and cocked her head to hear more.

"…Such an honor to have you…where are your Sailor guardians?"

"As young as you did yesterday…"

"Enough of your flattery," the Emperor snapped in his startlingly melodic voice. He was loud enough that Salina could clearly understand him. "So you have the students calling you 'Lord' and 'Lady' now, eh? Trying to usurp my authority?"

Sukreph and Cor exchanged panicking looks before Cor spoke, her voice dripping with honey.

"Of course not. The students choose those titles for us of their own initiative. It is nothing that we initiate. I promise you."

The Emperor looked less than convinced, but apparently he had bigger matters on his mind than whatever title the sailors-in-training chose to give their overlords. "When will the four who are able to transform be ready for combat?"

Salina froze upon those words. Discor sent her a questioning look, but Salina was too busy attempting to listen for more information to respond to her.

"Whenever you wish it, Your Majesty," Sukreph said, bowing low again. "They are all competent fighters, as you can see."

"It may have to be very soon," the Emperor said, his fat face folding into lines of annoyance. "I fear that our war with the Ariel System is not going well at all. Ever since they murdered those three sailors last year, they've been encroaching on the outer planets. Supposedly they're even occupying Nereven. I haven't sent a patrol to check."

"What do your advisors say?" Cor asked, the sugar-sweet look she had been wearing fading away. Though it had been many years, she had loved being a sailor, and still loved the feeling that the Emperor continued to come to her for advice.

"Send all of the sailors to Nereven, crush any Arielans they find there and any potential uprisings of our people, and then go full force into Ariel itself. Annihilate them."

"A war," Sukreph said, his eyes gleaming. "Yes. Show the Arielans they have good reason to fear the might of Virginis. With all the slaves we could take, we could increase industry on the outer planets by a good—"

"And I do mean all the sailors," the Emperor said, interrupting Sukreph and staring straight at Cor. "Your Virginis, Nereven, Plurvene, and Discor will all be needed."

Cor bit her lip. As much as she could delude herself, she had more sense than to think that this was a good idea. "Your Majesty…are you sure this will be wise? They have not even neared the completion of their training. You remember Altanin, and the fate she suffered when we pushed her too soon. This large of a replacement could—"

"Ariel will not wait for their training to be completed," the Emperor said flatly. "The Arielans know that there are four vacancies. They are probably planning their attack for sometime soon, before the training is done."

"But are the Arielans planning attack?" Sukreph asked. "We can't know for sure."

"We do not need to know for sure!" the Emperor said, raising his voice for the first time. "I will not wait for them to take hold of the outer planets and use them against me! We will launch this strike. You have confirmed that. I expect your four to be report to the palace garrisons in one week."

And with that, the Emperor sat down on his litter once more, the trumpeters played a fanfare, the crowd split, and the royal party disappeared past the gates.

Even as the pairs resumed sparring and firing magic at one another, Salina stood stock-still, her mouth half-open. She—and the others—were going to war. They were going, barely trained, to face off against the enemies who had killed the older sailors. Salina hated the thought of fighting, of watching people crumple, dead, to the ground because of something she had done. Other soldiers were bad enough, but civilians?

"Virginis! What are you doing? Back to work!" Sukreph snarled from behind her, lashing his whip across her back. She reeled but managed to stay standing. What she didn't see was that Discor had launched a blast of magic toward her at that exact moment. It hit her full on.

Stars popped behind her eyes and she collapsed to the ground as her head swam and her vision went black. The wind was knocked out of her, and before she knew what was happening she had lost consciousness.

* * *

"Come on, now, Salina. You can do it…open your eyes…"

She slowly obeyed, aware only of a horrid pounding in her head. Bending over her was a young woman with kind eyes and long hair tied back behind her head. She was the main of the Academy's physicians, which made this…

"The infirmary?" Salina asked, sitting up quickly. She immediately wished that she hadn't—she had reawakened the pain in her chest, and it was so painful that she doubled over, convulsing, trying to fight off the sudden wave of nausea.

"Lie down," the woman commanded, gently guiding her back to the bed. "That was quite a blast you took. You'll be sore for a few days…"

Salina nodded weakly and looked around the room. Seated by her bedside were Phoebe and Discor, who had returned to her civilian form. Her name was Quenn, and she was tall and willowy, with straight brown hair that cascaded down her back and was long enough to sit on.

"H-how long has it been?" Salina croaked.

"You were out past lunch and dinner," Phoebe said, reaching forward to grab Salina's hand. "It's almost curfew now."

"I'm really sorry for hitting you," Quenn cut in. "I was—I was just—I'm sorry. I thought you were paying attention, but you were acting really strangely this morning…"

"That's right!" Salina would have bolted up again but for the restraining hand on her shoulder. "I can't believe I missed training! It's more important than ever, now that—"

She stopped mid-sentence. She didn't really want to talk to Phoebe and Quenn about this, but Phoebe was shaking her head slowly, her expression unusually serious.

"They told us during dinner, Sal. You four are going off to fight in the Ariel System."

"Of course, they tried to make it sound all grand and impressive," Quenn said, attempting a smile. "Not that it is. War…great stars, I'm not ready yet. We'll probably all die."

"Don't say that!" Phoebe snarled. Quenn did not take it back. She was shaking her head slowly, a look of resignation on her face.

"There are sixteen planets in the Ariel system, and they have quite a few dwarves too. We have twelve sailors, and four of us aren't properly trained. The numbers don't add up, Phoebe."

"You can't just sentence my sister to death!" Phoebe said hotly.

"Phoebe, stop," Salina ordered. "You too, Quenn. We aren't panicking. I'm trying not to think about it, and stress does not aid my recovery. Just…just focus on something nice, please?"

The physician turned away from the counter with a medicine in a glass, which she gave to Salina to drink. "You two, you'd better leave or you won't make curfew. Miss Salina, you'll need to stay the night and possibly a couple more days."

Phoebe and Quenn stood, muttering their goodbyes, and disappeared out of the far end of the room. Salina drank her medicine and closed her eyes as the physician closed the blinds and turned off the light.

There was no denying that she would probably die in a little over a week, but for whatever reason Salina was not afraid. Was she managing to hold on to some tiny scrap of hope, she wondered, or was she simply resigned to her own death?

* * *

**A/N: Well, there's the first chapter for you guys. I hope you enjoy! I'm sorry about the massive amounts of background/info dump. Cosmos will be here soon, I promise. Also, the resemblances to Earth were part of the plot, not just me being lazy (well, okay, there was some of that too). Please review, and tell me if there was anything you didn't understand!**


	2. Too Young To Be Lost

The palace at the heart of Virginis was a glimmering construction of spires, towers, and walls that shone in the constant daylight. It loomed far above the rest of the city, a constant reminder of the utmost power they were ruled by.

Inside, it was equally magnificent, but also sad. The walls had once stood to house the entire Virginian royal family, as well as the sailors. Now, though, the royal family was tiny, and the sailors were at war so often that their rooms were empty. The palace was overrun by aristocrats, the minor nobility, and the soldiers who were supposed to guard it.

None of this bothered its occupants, however. The emperor was usually busy enough that he had no time to reflect on the past, and all the time in the world to reflect on the future—the looming war with Ariel.

He sat in a high-backed chair in a large assembly room, his advisors and most of the other nobles gathered around, all discussing loudly. In one corner, Sukreph and Cor skulked, not comfortable among the assembly.

The babble of voices was broken by a sudden trumpet, and a clear voice that shouted through the crowd, "Presenting the Sailors of Virginis!"

The heavy door swung open, and twelve young women walked in to the sound of trumpets. They all had their heads held high, and their eyes did not meet anyone else's. As well as their sailor uniforms, they wore heavy, metal-plated armor that shone in the light of the room. The armor looked as though it had been forged just the day before, but someone with a careful eye might have noticed the faint bloodstains on the armor of the girl in front. Indeed, the same person would likely notice that, at a second glance, the girl in front looked rather less like a warrior heading into a grand battle, and more like a fresh recruit who had never tasted combat. Of course, the latter was the truth.

_"Don't show weakness—don't look down—don't look nervous—don't smile—oh, but don't look so harsh either—just look like you're ready to fight—oh, here we are…''_

The other sailors' words to her and the other new Senshi echoed in Salina's head, mixing in a confused mess until it was all she could do to stand and stop her knees knocking together. The crowd of people in the room swam in front of her eyes, and for a few panicky moments she was sure she was about to faint. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Discor, looking fierce and proud, and wondered how she was doing it.

It took her a few moments to realize that the people in the room were cheering, cheering for her and the others, cheering for their looming victory. Forgetting the 'no-smile' rule, Salina turned her lips upward, shakily, not sure how to react.

Before too long, the Emperor stood, raising a hand to calm the crowd. "Today we send our warriors out—for glory for Virginis!"

Another brief roar of voices.

"The Virginian Sailors today travel with all of our forces to Ariel, where they will conquer! We will pay them back in blood for the losses we have sustained!"

Salina drew in a shaky breath. She knew that the Sailor's Oath was drawing near, and she hoped desperately not to forget the words to it. I, a warrior of Virginis…

"Twelve sailors! Twelve women who represent the unity of Virginis and all the planets that depend on her for light and warmth! Twelve warriors who will bring us victory!"

The Emperor's voice was drowned by the roar of the crowd, as each of the sailors raised her hand in the air.

"As the twelve sailors of the Virginian System, we pledge to you…" Salina began, as was customary.

"I, a warrior of Virginis and her planets, swear to fight long and hard until the battle is won. I fight not for my own glory, but for the glory of my people and Virginis. I will sacrifice my life if necessary, and never until the end will I bow my head to the enemy. Battle and blood may come, but I will show no fear in the face of adversity. In the name of Virginis, our noble galaxy, and all of the universe I pledge!"

Over the shouts and cheers, each sailor lowered her hand as she shouted the name of her planet.

"Virginis!"

"Discor!"

"Atalin!"

"Areithin!"

"Nereven!"

"Plurvene!"

"Elechyrn!"

"Remeren!"

"Villokry!"

"Rigalee!"

"Norwy!"

"Wesecar!"

"For Virginis!" they all yelled, Salina's voice drowned under her fellows'.

* * *

"That went well," Discor said, pulling the heavy breastplate over her head.

"Did it?" Salina murmured. "It's like you said. They're cheering for us to die."

The week since Salina had first learned she was going into battle had passed without incident. Although she had been forced to miss several days of training because of her injury, she found she didn't care. A sort of numbness had settled over her. Perhaps, like Discor, she had simply come to accept death.

Then she thought of Phoebe, and her hands shook.

Sailor Atalin looked around sharply at Salina's words. "Don't say that! We will win!"

"Even if we do, what's the point?" Sailor Wesecar asked, her mouth set in a semblance of a smile. "He'll send us off to conquer another system. You know the Arielans haven't really been causing trouble, don't you? We're the aggressors."

"Are you trying to say Mirian's death was her own fault?" Atalin asked, nearly hysterical as she glared at the other sailor. "She died protecting her people, like the oath says!"

"Is that true?" Salina interrupted, looking from Wesecar, who looked indifferent, to Atalin, who was in tears. "Are the Arielans innocent?"

Wesecar shrugged and opened her mouth, but before she could speak a voice interrupted them.

"That's enough! All of you!"

Sailor Elechyrn stood over all of them, her voice loud but not angry. Her bright amber eyes flashed. "We are not going to talk about dying! We are not discussing who is at fault! We will focus on our strategy and do as ordered! Understood?"

When no one responded, she nodded. "Good."

"What was that all about?" Discor muttered, when Elechyrn was out of earshot.

Wesecar looked snide. "Oh, ever since Virginis got herself killed, she's sort of taken over as leader, since she's one of the most senior."

"Does that mean I won't have to lead then?" Salina asked, immensely relieved. Wesecar shrugged again and resumed her usual brooding.

They were removing their armor and putting it back in its proper place, preparing for their departure the next day. They had been shown to their extravagant rooms and had the rest of the day to do whatever they wished…except leave the palace, which meant Salina couldn't visit Phoebe. The Emperor was apparently afraid that the sailors would attempt to return to their home planets, and so had forbidden them from leaving.

Most of the other girls had already drifted off, to go to their rooms or who knew where. Salina looked around, lost, before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go to our rooms," Discor said, her voice low. "We can talk there."

Salina nodded, grateful for the suggestion. She allowed Discor to guide her out of the armory and down a long corridor, before they arrived at the door marked with Virginis's symbol on it. Salina swung open the door and was temporarily blinded by color. Nearly the entire room was yellow, with accents of grey here and there.

"I guess they change them for every new sailor," Discor said. "To match their colors."

"…I don't even like my colors that much."

Discor laughed briefly and crossed the room to the window. They were in one of the castle's towering spires, and the city was laid out before them in all of its shining glory. It was a magnificent sight, but Salina's worry meant that she was unable to enjoy it.

"Discor…what is the fighting going to be like?"

Discor turned, surprised. "Weren't you listening during the strategy meeting?"

"I tried," Salina said softly. "But that's not really what I meant. I mean, who are all of these 'other forces' we're supposedly fighting with?"

"You know, ordinary people who have been trained in magic or weapons," Discor said. "Quite a lot of them, from what I hear."

"Aren't they…won't they die outside of the shield?" Salina said.

"I think that some of them can make shields," Discor shrugged. "That's why you go for the magic-wielders first. If you can take out the shields, all of Ariel's non-sailor forces will die."

"They still have more sailors than us, though," Salina said, more to herself than Discor.

Discor turned away from the window. She was edgy and uncomfortable with not moving. "I'm going to explore. Maybe see if I can meet some of the other sailors. Want to come?"

"No, thanks," Salina said. Discor waved a goodbye and disappeared out the door, shutting it gently behind her. Salina lay down on her golden-sheeted bed and stared at the ceiling. She wanted to be alone…no, she wanted to be with Phoebe, but that wasn't an option. She didn't even have a book to read. She was alone to spend the hours until the morning came.

* * *

Salina couldn't sleep that night. She tossed and turned in her sheets before finally deciding to get up, though she knew that facing her first battle sleepless was not a good idea. She pulled a light robe on and stepped out onto the balcony that connected all of the sailors' rooms.

There was already someone there, and though it took Salina a moment to recognize her in her non-sailor form, she realized it was Elechyrn.

"Oh, Virginis," Elechyrn said, turning to face her. "It's late…"

"Please, just call me Salin—"

"Don't tell me!" Elechyrn held up a hand, a slight smile crossing her face before she turned away. Salina didn't know why, but she got the impression that Elechyrn was hiding tears. "Sorry. I don't want to know your name."

"Um…can I ask why?" Salina asked timidly.

"Someone's going to die tomorrow," Elechyrn said, looking at her once more. "Probably more than one of us. Maybe me. Maybe you. Either way, I'd really like to hold off on getting to know you better."

"Oh." Salina didn't know what to say. "Do you think we'll win?"

"If we don't, we'll probably all die," she said. "I think we _can_ win..."

There was a long silence. Salina joined Elechyrn at the railing. They were so far above the ground that they could see the end of the city, where the shield stopped it. Beyond, fire raged across the surface of the star, splitting the pitch-black of space. Occasionally a particularly strong flare would brush the sky. Salina tried to make out the planets she knew in the inky blackness, but gave up and turned back to Elechyrn, who was watching the fire as though transfixed.

"Tell me how Mirian died?" Salina hadn't really meant to say it, but before she could stop herself it came out. Elechyrn's eyes widened before adopting the same look of deep sadness. She sighed.

"I suppose you might as well know. We were running a raiding mission on one of the moons of Ariel's farthest planet. We had almost destroyed the base when reinforcements came, Ariel's sailors among them. They attacked in unison, and we were scattered. Many of us fled back into Virginis. Those who stayed were surrounded—me, Mirian, Atalin, Plurvene, Discor. We were outnumbered three to one by the sailors alone. Discor attacked one of them, and they tore her apart. Plurvene got caught in the crossfire. It was only the three of us, and they were going to torture Atalin to death. Mirian gave me her sailor crystal."

"Wait. She—what?" Salina interrupted for the first time. Elechyrn didn't even look at Salina as she responded, her eyes misty as though she was lost in her memories.

"She blocked Atalin's body with her own and was wounded very badly. Attempting a teleport with only three sailors is dangerous enough when they're all in good shape, and we were all injured. Mirian has—had the strongest sailor crystal. Using it would have killed her anyway, so she gave it up and her life force was gone. I drew all the power left from it to teleport me and Atalin back home."

Salina was silent. She didn't know what to say. On the one hand, she was inclined to sympathize with Mirian, but on the other, Wesecar's words from earlier rang clear in her mind.

What if they weren't victims? They could just as easily be the aggressors, especially from the fact that they had died in a conflict Virginis had initiated.

"Elechyrn?"

"Hm?"

"Are we wrong?"

Elechyrn smiled humorlessly. "Wesecar's gotten to you, I see. I have no answer for you. Our Emperor may well lust after Ariel solely as another addition to his conquered lands. But Virginis—if we don't fight, then we're going to die, so thinking about that is pointless."

"I guess that's true," Salina said with a rueful smile. "So-um, am I going to lead…I mean, do you want to take charge tomorrow?"

"I didn't realize you wanted to," Elechyrn said. "You don't have much skill, do you? You're not very outspoken, and you don't know the sailors very well." Her tone was very mild, but the words still stung somewhat. "I have more experience, but if you'd rather…"

"No, I don't care," Salina said, forcing a smile. "I'm glad not to have to. I was worrying about that."

Elechyrn nodded and turned back to the railing. "Look, Virginis. Isn't it beautiful?"

"I guess?"

"But then you think, time and space roll on and on and on, and sooner or later all things will be destroyed," Elechyrn said almost dreamily. "Does any of it matter? We might as well just die, shouldn't we?"

"Maybe," Salina agreed, watching a shooting star.

* * *

A long white cape was spread over the flowers, their colors showing through the semitransparent silk. There was no wind to ruffle the petals, and yet they moved anyway, glowing with a vibrant light.

"I'm not coming back again."

The voice was soft, melodic. It belonged to the woman who was seated on the bed of flowers, her cape flowing around her. She was dressed in nearly pure-white, a dress with a sailor collar and a ruffled skirt in the colors of the rainbow. Her eyes were sad and, though she looked regal, there was also a great tiredness about her.

Beside her, floating in the air and surrounded by dancing light, was a small fairylike figure who held a long staff in one hand. She wore a skirt of brilliant purple-white, and a veil in every color of the rainbow.

"I'll miss you." It was the smaller figure who spoke this time, her face forming a sad smile. "Do you know where you'll go to look?"

"Not yet," the larger one said, standing slowly. Her own staff, gleaming white, appeared in her hand. "But it's over. I'll miss you as well, but it can't be helped."

"Choose wisely. The fate of the universe rests on your decision," the fairy said, a smile on her face though she was not joking.

The taller woman turned away, looking at the sky, speckled as it was with so many stars, so many gleaming points of light. She raised her arms slightly, and ribbons of light formed around her back before forming into gleaming, snow-white angel wings. Feathers drifted to the ground as she raised her vision upwards. Her wings flexed and she prepared to fly, before hesitating and turning back to the fairy.

"Goodbye, Guardian. I thank you. I will miss you."

Then, without waiting for a response, she spread her wings, gave them a powerful beat, and rose into the starry sky, before disappearing among the stars. The feathers she had shed took a long time to slowly spiral down and land on the flowers, before disintegrating into light.

The fairy stared at the point where she had disappeared for a long time before she turned away. "I look forward to the new generation. Goodbye, Cosmos…"

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to **cosmic-s-h-o-o-t-i-n-g-stars** for reviewing! Please tell me what you think, if you take the time to read it! Reviews are greatly appreciated. Feel free to message me if you're confused about anything.**


End file.
